Welcome to the inagural flight of Barnard Bunch Recipes. My sister Renee's idea. Like the rest of my siblings, she is always coming up with good ideas!
Lets talk about our varied food restrictions that make our menu planning even more interesting....
So, I (Melissa) am currently trying to follow a whole food, plant based diet. I try to limit gluten and dairy because I suspect an allergy in my children and possibly in myself. I also strive to buy Organic and as Local as possible, Being in Alaska, this usually means grown in the Northwest, not necessarily in AK itself. The thing that is making this lifestyle very challenging at the time is that we are currently on a VERY tight budget! My husband works much less in the winter than in the summer and we are at the end of our summer savings so just trying to hold out till May at this point. I am a stay at home mom (who also babysits full time for some additional income) which gives me time to prepare more homemade things during the day.
Selena is diagnosed with Celiacs. She is a single parent who works full time as a junior high teacher! So, on top of her restricted diet options she also faces time constraints when preparing her menu. She also tries to limit her intake of meat and dairy products for health reasons.
Renee is a stay home mom of three all under 7yrs old. So, she has to keep in mind that her recipes must be kid friendly as well as healthy. Like Selena and I, she tries to follow a plant based, whole foods diet and like me, she tries to buy Organic when possible. Like me, she receives a box of Produce from Full Circle Farms once a week which we use as our produce when meal planning.
Hazel is a working girl with no kids yet. She lives with her boyfriend. They are focusing on using healthy oils and grains in their cooking. She does not follow a plant based diet. She is an excellent baker and creates delicious rich meals that we all love. She probably has the least restricted income of the sister when it comes to shopping for her groceries.
William is a the youngest and the only boy in our family. He is single with no children and in his early twenties. He works full time. He recently decided to try to follow a gluten free diet due to symptoms that look alot like Celiacs. He does not follow a plant based diet either so his recipes, like Hazels include plenty of meat and dairy.
So, that is our dietary outline in a nutshell. And so, we will be posting recipes as we come up with them, because sometimes we make something that is just SO good that we want to share. :)